This week Dragon basketball hosted Rochester Adams, who came into the game ranked fourth in the OAA power rankings, with a 7-2 Record. The Highlanders have the reputation of playing a physical style of basketball and uses their defense to dominate their opponents.
This would be the Dragons only game of the week, which meant more time to prepare for the Highlanders.
Leading up to this game, Coach Shafkalis said ‘If we are going to have any chance of a competing for the League Title, we will have to beat Adams this week.?
He added, ‘Adams will play very physically and will try to trap our guards all game, and our plan is to beat them at their own game?.
The Dragons opened up the first quarter looking stronger and faster than fans have seen all season. Their defensive pressure quickly took the Highlanders out of their game plan and led to a strong opening period, as the Dragons would take a commanding 10?3 lead.
The second period would be much like the first: a physical defensive battle. Dragons never once trailed the entire first half, something fans haven’t seen all season. They closed out the half leading, 23-12.
The second half started a little slowly for the Dragons — a common theme all season.
Highlanders opened up a little more aggressively and turned up their offense to try to mount a comeback. But the Dragons stuck to their game plan and their pressure defense would keep the third close.
This was a milestone for the team because in past games, they have let the third quarter slip away to find themselves in a ‘deep hole.?
But not that night.
As the third period came to a close, Dragons had an eight point lead, starting the fourth quarter up, 38-28. The last quarter would be similar to the entire game: a physical game of pressure defense and traps from both teams.
Dragons went on to win, 47- 38, in a key victory against a very solid Adams team.
Leading scorers of the game were Alex Mayo, 19, Derek Schrauben, 10, John Wiliamson, 6, Paul Couretas, 4, and Brian Wandschneider, 4.
After the game Coach Shafkalis said, ‘We knew what we had to do going into this game and I felt very confident after three solid days of very focused practice that we could beat these guys.?
He also noted, ‘Our hard work paid off, we never let them get their shots off and we wore them done all game.?
The coach gave all the praise to his players for working extremely hard and focused at practice. He said, ‘If we play like this every night, we can compete with anyone in the league.?
Lake Orion is now 7-5, and ranked 10th in the OAA power rankings. They are in a three-way tie with Rochester Adams and Stoney Creek for second place in their league.
The boys are on the road for their next three games against Troy, Berkley and Rochester.
~ Story submitted